Crimson Fall
by Shimmering-Sky
Summary: Sequel to Crimson Feathers. It's been twelve years since the Signer-Dark Signer war ended… but the peace is not to last. Seven humans from the future show up. In their time, the Crimson Dragon and her Signers were all dead, powerless to stop the Queen of the Netherworld and her forces. Can those seven succeed in changing the past? Or will fate favor its original course?
1. Prologue

S-S: *Staring blankly at a wall*

Angel: …Uh, Shimmer? I'm pretty sure you have something to do.

S-S: …

Angel: Earth to Shimmering-Sky… can you hear me? *Pokes her face repeatedly*

Lucy: Aha, I wouldn't try doing that. She's been like that for the past, like, hour.

Angel: H-Huh?! What did you do to her?

Lucy: Me? Nothing. Shim did this to herself.

Shade: Death Note's ending is certainly not for the faint of heart… and neither is this chapter.

Angel: …Yeah. Okay. Now I'm worried.

Lucy: *Laughs* Oh, you should be! This prologue… _oh_, this prologue…

Meri: We totally don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds, but we do own our OCs! Enjoy the prologue to Crimson Fall!

Angel: Wait, _THAT'S_ what you're posting?!

***This chapter is brought to you by _Low of Solipsism_ (I hope I spelled that right) from _Death Note_ (because this anime is the BEST!)***

**Prologue**

The Crimson Dragon was dead. The last line of defense from the overwhelming clutches of the Queen of the Netherworld, gone. The Signers had been snuffed out one by one. Even as she ran for her life, the woman hidden under white robes and a black mask could remember how each of them fell.

Jack was the first, the product of a misinterpreted prophecy. Torched into an almost unrecognizable shape from battling—and losing to—the Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca.

The second, Crow. Driven to commit suicide rather than kill his own sister, or let her live with the guilt of killing him. His actions, which ultimately were pointless, still scarred the memories of the ghost of a woman.

Then it was Yusei. The sacrifice in order for the Queen of the Netherworld to return; stabbed through the heart by his older sister. His younger sister, Natsumi, fell to the same blade not moments later.

Brave Luna was the fifth to die. She had been in the Spirit World along with her brother when an army led by the Second Prince of Nether, Milon, attacked. Luna fought until the very end, and her sacrifice only ensured that her brother survived. The Spirit World still fell to ruin.

But then there was Leo, in a mad state of grief for not being able to save his twin. Angel silenced him for eternity, before she herself ceased to exist.

And Akiza, the only one left… Betrayed by one she held most dear…

_I… I promise you, your deaths will not be pointless,_ the masked woman thought as she continued to run through the ruins of the original Ener-D Reactor—the last safe haven for humanity in this desolate world.

_We _will _change the past…_

Finally, her destination was in site. What used to be the central control room had been transformed to hold the time machine—their only hope—that Roman Goodwin had made. He was still there, sitting next to its control pad. So were two others. Children, they both were, cloaked in a similar outfit to the masked woman. The older one, who was nearly fifteen, was a boy. The younger, a twelve-year-old girl. They were both orphaned far too soon.

"A-Athena!" the girl—hidden behind the name of Pearl, in order to not mess up the past—exclaimed, catching herself before she called the woman by her original name. "You're back! B-But… where's my mother…?"

"I'm sorry," the woman replied, but she really wasn't. How could she be, when she couldn't _feel_ anymore? "She died… when she fell for an illusion. We… both did." Why it couldn't have been her, she didn't understand. She was nothing. A ghost; no more than a shell of her former self. Her husband was dead, and their daughter had been lost to the darkness. Her friends had all fallen one by one in front of her. She would give anything to trade places with Pearl's mother. Athena had no reason left to live…

None, save the promise of saving everyone by fixing what happened in the past.

Pearl's hands flew over her mouth as she let out a wail of anguish. Her mother and older brother were the only blood family she had left alive… Now, it was only her brother. The twisted versions of her father, grandparents, and aunt hardly counted as such. "N-No… why…? Why did she have to…?"

"I don't know," Athena replied, "but she will not die in vain. The others have already gone through the portal, right?"

"That is correct," the boy—Miles—said, putting a hand to his face as though he was trying to adjust glasses that weren't there. "Pearl and I… we were just waiting for you to show up."

She humphed. "And if I hadn't?"

"Then…" he paused for a moment. "We would have gone through without a leader, but we still would have fixed the past."

Athena nodded her approval. "Very well. The creatures of darkness can't be far away. Let's go, before—"

The door behind her exploded, sending the woman in white flying through the air. She crashed into the wall opposite the door, and was on her feet immediately. "Go!" she screams to the two children. "Go! I'm right behind you!"

She turned around while she shouted, and her worst fear came true. This time it was the Second Prince of Nether who stood in her way… Milon, who looked far too much like a man she once knew, ready to kill her and anyone else who dared to change the past.

"_Well… I find not only one, but _two _traitors?"_ Milon mused aloud after seeing the remaining occupants of the small room. "_All the more reason for me to just kill you and be done with it."_

"Athena…" Roman said quietly, attracting her attention. "I never… I never intended to go to the past with you, anyways. I'll keep him from following you. Just go."

It didn't pain her heart to run through the portal, even if she wanted it to.

Too much tragedy to deal with… Too much sorrow to stop… Too many wounds to be healed…

**To be continued…**

Angel: *Gaping at screen*

Lucy: Huh? Oh, don't worry. This is set in the _future_, obviously.

Muse-Jack: And Athena, Pearl, and Miles are far from those people's real names…

Angel: You… You just… how… why…?

Lucy: Because this is _so_ much more fun than working on something else right now.

Shade: Not to mention the ideas we have for the true identities of the other four who travelled to the past…

Angel: You mean… you aren't using the canon people from the post-apocalyptic future of 5Ds?

Meri: Oh, we're using four of them. We've just changed one of their names and the other three… their _real_ identities are drastically different.

Lucy: Basically, expect what happened in Blue Sky except a million times more evil. And insane.

Angel: I… don't want to picture that…

Lucy: Suit your self. In any case, you guys all BETTER leave reviews!

_(PS: All of the other Signers we added in Crimson Feathers are dead as well. They weren't focused on in this chapter because they're all Minor Signers, with the six canon ones, Angel, and the Envoy being the major ones. Because there's DEFINITELY a difference between the two even though they're all still Signers. Also, _Death Note _really IS the only reason this is getting posted now because Shimmering-Sky isn't functioning right now.)_


	2. Chapter 1: The End of Peace

Faith: Woohoo! Time for my first chapter ever!

Angel: …Who are you?

Faith: I'm Shimmering-Sky's newest muse. I'm supposed to be the one to write the fluffy scenes. And with the exception of the very end of this chapter, that's just what I did!

Angel: So… this is a mostly "good" chapter?

Faith: Uh-huh!

Angel: Okay… that's fine… Um, where's Shimmering-Sky?

Lucy: She's been repeatedly murdering her own feels for the past, like, week and a half. You know, Code Geass _kind of_ does that to a person.

Angel: …?

S-S: *Comes in the room* Lucy, I need your help.

Lucy: The Code Geass story, right?

S-S: Yep. Oh, hey Angel. I guess that means Crimson Fall is getting updated?

Angel: Do you just let your muses do whatever when you aren't around?

S-S: No. There are rules. Mostly against killing people and no starting fires and stuff like that.

Angel: And do they listen to you?

S-S: Most of the time. A-Anyways, I need to go work on my new story. Lucy, let's go!

Lucy: With pleasure!

*Shimmering-Sky and Lucy disappear*

Faith: Whatever. Time for the chapter!

Rudolph: Oh! But we don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds, 'kay?

Piano: Enjoy!

***This chapter is not brought to you by any specific song. Just play something ridiculously fluffy***

**Chapter 1**

**Angel's POV**

_Beepbeep. Beepbeep._

I groan. My body feels like a rock… and my bed is so comfortable and warm… I _really_ don't want to get up. But the only time Toby and I set our alarm clock is if we have something important to do… _What's the occasion today…?_

My hand finds the off switch, and the beeping stops. Yawning, I roll over in bed… only to find empty space next to me.

_What…? Since when can Toby get up without waking me up in the process?_ I thought I was a light sleeper… I don't know. Maybe my survival instincts from growing up in Satellite have finally shut off. Took long enough…

The door clicks open, and my husband comes in with a tray in his hands. He's balancing it pretty well—something I never believed he could do. Honestly, Toby used to be clumsier than _Carly_…

A smile appears on my face. He mirrors it perfectly.

"Breakfast in bed? It's certainly not my birthday or Mother's Day," I say.

He places the tray on the desk next to our bed—waffles and strawberries and orange juice. "You're still half-asleep, aren't you?"

"So what if I am?"

"Well, I'd just have to wake you up."

He goes to kiss me—probably on the neck—but a little voice screams from down the hallway. "Mommy! I finish pick-cher!"

My three-year-old daughter, Athena, toddles into the room. She takes after me when it comes to hair color, but other than that, she's the spitting image of Toby, so I really can't help but love her. She has a drawing in her chubby hands that she seems to want me to have.

I flatten it out before I look at it because she'd crumpled it quite a bit. It… looks like a bunch of potatoes with four sticks coming out of them, some color scribbled on the top of each of them. At first, I don't know what to say because I don't know what they're supposed to be. Then I realize that they're supposed to be us. The two biggest "potatoes" are me and Toby, with a tiny one between us with orange on top—that would be Athena. Then there's one with long black scribbles on the other side of Toby. Misty, maybe? On the other side of me are two more, one with a broom of orange and the other with not short but not long black. Crow and Alice, definitely. Maybe Crow hasn't worked up the nerve to propose yet (despite them being together for nearly eight years now), but Athena totally treats Alice like she's part of the family.

And then there are two in the background, one with orange and grey, and one with just grey. Oh, she _loves_ her grandparents, and they adore her.

"It's wonderful, Thena!" I exclaim, ruffling her hair. "I'm gonna keep it with me so I can look at it every day. Is that cool?"

"Uh-huh!" She nods, and then jumps on my lap. "L-uh-v you, Mommy!"

I laugh and kiss her forehead. "Love you too, my adorable little daughter."

My stomach starts to grumble, causing Athena to laugh. Toby picks her up, whispering something in her ear while looking straight at me. I pop an eyebrow, but he says nothing as he carries her out of the room.

"H-Hey! …A warning would be better next time…" I grumble.

Ah well. At least I can eat my breakfast now.

It's when I'm finishing up eating my food by taking a swig of orange juice that I realize what day it is: the tenth anniversary of me and Father coming back, and the twelfth of peace between the Signers and Dark Signers.

At least I don't spit take over my bed. Instead, I awkwardly swallow a mouthful of orange juice. It burns my throat, and leaves me trying to cough away a lump that isn't really there.

Toby ducks his head in the door. "Finally remembered what day it was, huh?"

I chuck a pillow at him, which he easily dodges. "You could've just told me."

"Eh, I knew it would come to you eventually."

I roll my eyes, sighing. "Whatever. Anyways, when do you think we should head to Martha's house? We told her we'd help set up."

"Half an hour?" Toby says like it's a question.

"Sounds good."

**XXX**

Surprisingly, we're the first to arrive at Martha's place. I mean, it's only eleven and the gathering doesn't start until five, but I honestly expected my brother to be here already. He practically _lives_ here because he helps Martha when he's not doing his job of running deliveries or when he's not on patrol. And he definitely would've got off today…

I end up having to make a run to the store while Toby helps cook and Athena plays with the orphans. Apparently Martha didn't realize she was low on a few essential spices and flour.

It doesn't take long, but a certain someone I was thinking about arrives just when I do.

"Hey Crow!" I call.

He turns around after he takes off his helmet. "Oh, hi Angel! You just get here?"

"No, I had to make a quick run to the store for Martha," I reply, holding up the grocery bags. "I got here, like, forty-five minutes ago."

He shrugs. "Whatever. I got this last-minute call for a delivery. You _know_ I would've been here otherwise."

"Mhmm. And what about Alice? Is she coming separate?"

His eyes widen a little, his mouth turning into a little 'o'. He scratches his head, a faint pink staining his cheeks. "I… uh… I think so. I mean, I don't know _why_ she _wouldn't_ come unless she was trying to—never mind."

…_?_ One of my eyebrows pops up as I stare at my brother. "'Unless she was trying to' _what_?"

"I-I said _never mind_!"

He _has_ to have done something. There's no reason he would be acting so fishy otherwise. The only thing is… _what_ did he do? "Did you do something to her?"

"No! No way! I just…" He sighs, head falling and shoulders sagging. "I _might_ have accidentally triggered some of her bad memories last night. So if she doesn't show up, that's why."

_Bad memories…? What sort of bad memories would Alice _possibly _have that Crow could accidentally trigger?_ Then again, I know next to nothing about how she and Jack lived before they ended up at Martha's orphanage… Xylia, too. I can't believe I forgot about her. And Alice _did_ get horrible nightmares for the longest time… "Okay, I understand. You really didn't need to act all shifty, though. Someone else might get the wrong idea."

"What d'you mean, _shifty_?"

"You're dodging questions, your hands are sweaty, and you just seem super nervous whenever Alice gets brought up," I say.

He gives out one of the most awkward and horrible forced laughs _ever_ before turning around and going into Martha's house. Doesn't even say anything to me.

Feh. Brothers.

**XXX**

After delivering the supplies to Martha, she tells me to keep an eye on the kids. I don't mind doing that—I do enough cooking as it is—and I can _tell_ Crow is envying me right now because he _hates_ cooking and _loves_ children. I simply smirk in his direction and go off to play with the children.

Athena's been here before, so the orphans already accept her as a friend. Looks like they're playing hide-and-seek…

I catch my daughter when she darts in front of me. She lets out a squeal that turns into giggles once she realizes I'm the one who picked her up. She squirms around quite a bit. "Mommy! Down!"

"But I wanna play with my precious little girl…" I pout a little. "Can I join your game?"

"Nu-uh! Kids only!" this five-year-old girl with brown hair and green eyes shouts. "You jus' get to watch!"

"So'y Mommy…" Athena apologizes, running to her friend's side. All of a sudden, she freezes in place. Her head turns towards the door, a smile on her face. I didn't hear anything. What could she be so excited about?

Seconds later, the door opens. In comes a young boy, only a year older than Athena, with bright blue hair and darker blue eyes. Blue isn't actually his natural hair color, though. He inherited his mother's hair, but he thought it looked "girly" and as soon as he could talk basically demanded his parents to dye it for him.

To think, such a child could be the son of Yusei and Akiza…

"Boono!" my daughter squeals. She might not be able to say his name right, but she _does_ adore the boy.

He spots her immediately and grins. "Hey Thena!"

And just like that, my daughter abandons me. It's not surprising—she sees _me_ every day, but doesn't get to see Bruno all the time. I look up, and one of my eyebrows goes up. "Akiza? Where's Yusei?"

"Hm? Oh, something came up at work at the last second. He'll be here along with his parents as soon as they fix the problem," she replies, hanging her coat up on one of the hooks.

I shrug. Work is work, I guess. And no matter how small of a problem, it still needs to be fixed. "Alright, cool. Martha and Crow are in the kitchen if you wanted to help out there. Otherwise you can help me keep an eye on the kids…"

**XXX**

It doesn't take much longer for the others to start showing up, and by that time the only thing we need to do is set up the tables outside (for the adults) and inside (for the children and whoever gets assigned to keep an eye on them).

Yusei and his parents aren't even the ones who arrive last, though they _do_ look like they came directly from work. At least they aren't wearing lab coats, but they look a lot fancier than the rest of us.

No, that title goes to both of my parents and Uncle Roman. I don't blame them, though. Father and Roman… the crimes they committed before the Signer-Dark Signer war couldn't just be ignored. Especially not Roman's since he killed so many people by causing Zero Reverse. They've been serving jail time ever since returning—only allowed out once a year under strict surveillance of at least two Sector Security officers. Thankfully, both Crow and our mother fit the bill…

But enough thinking dark thoughts! Not on a day like this!

As I look around, I'm reminded of just how far we've come because of establishing peace between the Netherworld and the Spirit World. The reward of being able to live out our lives like normal human beings—even though the fact remains that we are immortal unless we truly want to die or are slain by someone who has the same power as us.

I see all of my friends and their families sitting around the table. Everyone is happy right now, like nothing else in the world matters.

A toast before we start eating. A toast to peace. A toast to happiness. A toast to the future.

And then Yusei's screaming in pain, an arrow buried through his hand.

_So much for peace._

**To be continued…**

Angel: WAIT WAIT WAIT, WHAT THE HELL WAS THIS?!

Faith: Um… family fluff…?

Muse-Jack: With a little bit of evil at the end…?

Angel: No, I mean… Why is Bruno _Yusei and Akiza's_ son?!

Faith: Oh, that! He needed a role 'cause this is _supposed_ to be your world's version of the entire second half of the show. Pretty much all the characters will be used, just in super-duper weird ways.

Angel: But what about… Antinomy…?

Joseph: He might be Bruno. He might _not_ be. *Cackles insanely*

Angel: …Okay, and what about the arrow in Yusei's hand?

Meri: Let's put it this way… prepare for a whole lot of shit to go down next chapter. Like, a _lot_.

Shade: Indeed. Ah, before we completely forget, please leave a review!

Piano: Ooh! And Happy Easter!

_(Note: All of the Signers/Dark Signers mentioned in the epilogue of Crimson Feathers, plus Martha and Toby, are the adults at the party thing. Luna and Margaret (remember, Akiza's childhood friend) are the ones keeping an eye on the children. Just so you know.)_


	3. Chapter 2: Future Spirits

Angel: …zzz… *Sneezes* Ngh… muh…?

Lucy: *Smiling about an inch from Angel's face* Hello, sleepyhead.

Angel: Gyah! What the hell are you doing, Lucy?

Lucy: Waking you up, of course.

Meri: It's time for something that isn't _Memories of Destruction_!

Muse-Jack: And by that, we _obviously_ mean _your_ story!

Angel: …You mean _Crimson Fall_? As in, the one you ended the previous chapter with an arrow landing in Yusei's hand?

Shade: Do we have anything _else_ that could be considered your story?

Angel: Well… no…

S-S: *Enters the room, engrossed in her 3DS* *Mumbling* Okay… last time I stalled with the Fate events and he ended up dying. Maybe if I actually hunt for the extra RAM…?

Angel: What are you going on about?

S-S: *Ignores her, still mumbling*

Lucy: She's busy playing _Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker_. …Mm, and she's trying to save this one character she accidentally let die during her first playthrough.

Angel: She's really into this game, isn't she?

Faith: You think? She has me on _overtime_ trying to come up with OTPs for that game… made even harder by the fact that she _won't decide on one_! Ugh.

Rudolph: Hey! We should get back on topic!

Piano: Yeah!

Angel: Er… right…

Lucy: We don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds! Sorry for the wait you guys, but here's chapter two!

***This chapter is brought to you by _Akashic Record_, from _Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2_***

**Chapter 2**

Natsumi screams, but other than that it's the only noise any of us make before throwing ourselves under the table. That arrow had to come from _somewhere_—and clearly the shooter had ill intentions. They shot _Yusei_, of all people.

I see Leo crawl over to Yusei, and I know I shouldn't worry about him anymore because Leo'll heal his hand. No, what we need to do is find who shot the arrow…

…There! There's someone cloaked in white hidden in the trees—I can't see their face from this distance, or tell what gender they are—but they're definitely holding a bow. Whoever it is, they jump down from the branches and start running towards us. It's at this point when I realize that our assailant is no more than a _child_—they can't be older than twelve. Also, he's a guy. He's slid the bow onto his back next to the quiver, and instead has some ornamental blade in his hand.

"_Those weapons… They are…"_ Dai's voice echoes in my head.

"_I know…"_ I whisper back. It shouldn't be possible, but this boy has Ancient Fairy Dragon's Spirit Weapons… and I can still sense Luna—who's perfectly fine—so he can't have stolen them from her. _Then how does he…? No, maybe they just _look _like them. There's no way anyone could use a Spirit Weapon that didn't belong to them…_

My own weapon appears in my hand, a rapier with a dark green blade. Its sweeping hilt is made of lighter-green material—and if one looked close enough, they would realize this material is actually high-speed wind channelled throughout a pattern. It always surprises me every time I look at it…

_Wh-What the hell?!_

The white-cloaked boy… is gone. Poof. I'd only looked away for a split second… there's no _way_ anyone could move that fast! And especially not to… to behind Natsumi… ready to plunge his blade into her…!

"Oh no you don't!" I scream, catapulting myself over Yusei and Leo (the latter still trying to heal the former's hand), knocking the ornamental dagger out of the boy's hand. "I don't know who you are, but you aren't gonna hurt _any_ of my friends!" I go to stab him in the chest, but some sort of invisible force stops my blade while he jumps back, out of reach.

He scrambles for his dagger, and though I can't see his eyes I can feel his glare. "You don't understand, that _thing_ isn't—"

"My daughter is _not_ a _THING_!" Ryuu roars.

The boy twists out of the way of the shuriken thrown his way—the black and pale-blue lines on it signify that it's Shimi Nolidae, the Moth Immortal's Nether Weapon—but it catches the side of his hood and rips it open.

I still can't see his face—it's hidden behind a black and white mask—but he has very long maroon hair…

"Tch… dammit, I can't… Don't make me…!" the boy reaches his hand to his waist, where a Deck Box is.

The sky above him tears open—_and my heart freezes in my chest because all I can think of is watching those other worlds fall apart_—and two people drop out of it, landing next to him. I can tell they're both men, one in his late teens and the other a few years older, but they're cloaked in the same style clothing that the boy is. I gasp when I see what weapons _they're_ carrying—the older of the two has Stardust Dragon's spear, and the other has the twin obsidian swords complete with fire that belong to Red Dragon Archfiend.

The younger man looks at the boy, "What have you messed up this time, Lucciano?"

"I hit his hand instead of the cup…" Lucciano, apparently, replies.

The older man snarls, "You were _supposed_ to aim for his heart, you idiot! _I'll_ finish this; you two take care of the demon!"

I have absolutely no idea what's going on right now. A demon? Who's supposed to be a demon?

…Whatever, the guy with Stardust's spear seems dead-set on killing Yusei…! I charge at him, and this time I actually succeed in stabbing my target in the chest. …Except not. For whatever reason… it looks like there's a hole in him right around the blade of my sword, allowing it to pass through. And that hole was _not_ there when I stabbed at him. Is he distorting reality or something…?

"Get out of my way!" he roars, slamming the butt end of his—_Stardust's_—spear onto my head with quite a good deal of force.

My vision blurs as I fall down like a limp noodle. Everything is kind of echo-y now… G-God, my head hurts… I close my eyes—I swear, only for a moment. When I open them, my vision is cleared, though my head still hurts. I drag myself up off the ground, and see my friends trying to hold off the three psychopaths that are trying to kill Yusei and Natsumi. W-Wait… there's… more than three of them. There's… a girl, maybe the same age as Lucciano… and another guy… maybe the age of the guy with Archfiend's swords. The girl… she has Black Rose Dragon's Spirit Weapon, a thorn-covered black staff that creates fires or _more_ thorns, and doubles as a club if magic isn't usable at the moment. The new guy… I almost let out a scream—he has _my_ rapier. But _I_ have my rapier… and there's no _way_ two of these exist at the same time… but there's just no way anyone can copy it… so how?

Someone grabs my wrist, tugging my unstable body back to the ground. I'm about to protest when I see it's just Toby, looking at me with his nervous eyes. "Angel, you're hurt… let the others handle it," he says.

"No, they're not handling it…" I retort. Because they really aren't. Leo and Yusei aren't fighting because the latter's hand is just taking a while to heal, and Natsumi is refusing to let go of her brother's arm. Akiza and Luna are still inside. The other Signers and Dark Signers are trying to fight off these _five_ maniacs, but their attacks aren't working on the five in white—either due to teleportation or the weird dimensional distortion stuff or a combination of the two.

"ENOUGH!" a male voice suddenly booms, so loud everyone instantly freezes. There are two more people here now, dressed in the same white clothes as the other strangers. One of them—the one who spoke—is… well, he's a lot taller than most people, with very wide shoulders. The other one is a woman around my height, but she carries herself with a lot more authority than the others.

It's this woman who steps forward, pointing her katana—that black-and-red steel can only mean it's Black-Winged Dragon's Spirit weapon—at the man dead-set on killing Yusei. "Placido, I told you we aren't killing anyone. I know how you feel about him, but we _aren't_ going to let Yusei die." I swear her voice sounds familiar…

The guy growls or something, and lets the lance in his hands disappear. Then he turns around and storms off into the woods.

The woman watches him leave before turning her attention to the others in what I assume is her group. "Lucciano…" she shakes her head disapprovingly, sighing. She looks at Yusei; my friend is looking back at her cautiously, clenching and unclenching his freshly-healed hand. "I'm sorry Yusei. My friends seem to think that drastic measures are what's needed to change the future… when, in fact, the only one needed is this!"

Time seems to freeze, but of course it doesn't _really_ freeze. No one has any time to react. This mysterious woman takes her katana… and swings it at Natsumi. Blood flies everywhere as Yusei screams—and everyone else joins in, a combination of grief and horror when we watch her head fall to the ground, separated from the rest of her body.

_Oh god, no. No. Not Natsumi._

And that's where things get weird.

Instead of her body shattering into a million pieces, it turns into purple smoke and vanishes in the wind. _Like a Dark Signer, not a Signer._ But Natsumi was a Signer, so then why would her body vanish like that?

"The fiend I just slayed was not Natsumi Fudo," the woman says, flicking her—_Crow's_—blade quickly, to get the blood off of it. "That was one of the Queen's soldiers disguised as her, whose goal was to capture Yusei Fudo, Sky Kazuki, Rex Goodwin, and Jack Atlas after drugging the drinks you all have."

_The… queen…? Who… and why would she need Yusei, Jack, and my father…?_

"Wasn't… Natsumi…? Then where _is_ she?" Yusei asks, his eyes portraying complete terror at the thought of his sister being missing.

"This place isn't safe," she continues. "If you want more answers, you'll have to come with us."

"_Hell_ no! Why should we trust you?!" Crow shouts. He doesn't actually seem angry though… his eyes are locked onto the blade in the mysterious woman's hands.

"For once, I agree with Crow," Jack says, scowling at the fact that he _does_ agree with my brother. "You all show up out of nowhere and _attacked_ us."

"It was an _accident_…" Lucciano whined. "And all my friends saw was you guys attacking _me_, and there wasn't enough time to explain anything. This fight was _pointless_…"

The mysterious woman folds her arms across her chest. "If you don't want answers, fine. Good luck holding your own against all the forces of the Netherworld, and also figuring out everything else. Jose and Miles," she gestures to the bulky man and the boy who was using _my_ rapier, "will stay behind, but only to protect the Signers who bear the Claws of the Crimson Dragon."

_Meaning Luna and Akiza… Oh crap, they have no idea what's going on out here, do they…?_ Wait. The fact that this group wants to protect them _has_ to mean something. Do they know Luna and Akiza are both pregnant somehow…? I-I mean… you can't tell _Akiza's_ pregnant just by _looking_ at her yet, and she's only told us…

"…Wait. Not all of you have a choice in whether or not to come," the woman suddenly says, a hand on her hip, the other one pointing while she lists off names. "Yusei, Crow, Angel, and Sky. You four _must_ come, otherwise we run the severe risk of messing up exactly what we came here to fix."

The boy who was using Archfiend's swords pipes in, "Don't forget Ryuu and Roman. We _kind of_ need _them_ alive to have had a time machine in the first place."

…What.

"Oh, so now you not only show up out of nowhere to attack us, but you've got some sorta _time machine_ on you? Who the _hell_ are you guys?" Crow shouts angrily, pointing his own blade at the mysterious woman.

"We've come to change the future, one that has taken a very dark turn. Nothing more, nothing less." She makes her copy of Black-Winged Dragon's Spirit Weapon disappear, relaxing her shoulders a bit. "I do wish you would stop arguing with us, though. The more time we waste here, the higher the chance of our failure."

"And you don't want that!" the much younger girl adds, her tone attempting to be cold but… there was still very clear grief behind it. "The future we want to change… is one where the Netherworld has destroyed both Earth and the Spirit World. Or to be more specific… the _Queen_ of the Netherworld and her followers caused it. She… hasn't quite forgiven you Signers for killing off her grandchildren and mortally wounding her eldest son, even if they _are_ all alive."

Placido, the guy who had stormed off into the woods, returns. He's empty handed, but his knuckles are stained in blood. His own…? "Anything that sides with the Crimson Dragon must be punished. That's her way of thinking," he says, obviously still displeased with the fact that he was not allowed to kill Yusei.

**XXX**

In the end, Jack, Ayame, Alice, and my parents are the only ones (other than the four of us the lady required) who follow the group in white into… what is apparently a temporary rift in the space-time continuum created through a combination of Lucciano and Placido's powers, the only place where we would have guaranteed safety from whatever the hell they're trying to protect us from. Yep, absolutely _perfect_ sense.

The others stay behind either not wanting to leave their children without both parents (Toby and Carly), not wanting to leave their sister behind (Leo), or wanting to protect those who stayed behind (everyone else).

At least we know their names now. The young girl is Pearl, the male teenager I didn't have a name for was Paradox, and the woman… is apparently named Athena. She swears she isn't related to me… but the fact that her name is the same as my daughter's _has_ to mean something, right?

I don't trust any of them, but I don't exactly have a choice in the matter in coming with them. Because apparently _I'm_ the center of this madness again, just like my brother. And Yusei and Sky are this time around… What sort of importance do we play when it comes to the Queen of the Netherworld destroying Earth and the Spirit World? Why do these strangers have the weapons that only Signers should have? Exactly what happened in their destroyed future? Those are the answers I certainly want…

…and boy, does the truth _hurt_.

**To be continued…**

Angel: Great. The Netherworld again? And just _why_ was Placido so hell-bent on killing Yusei, anyways? What's up with Lucciano and Placido's powers? AND WHERE'S THE REAL NATSUMI IF THE ONE "ATHENA" BEHEADED WAS A FAKE?!

Lucy: Geez, calm your jets. You know we totally aren't going to tell you right now, right?

Meri: Yep! You'll just have to wait like _everyone_ else!

S-S: HAH! I DID IT! I SAVED JUNGO! WHOOOOOOOOP! *Cough* …So what did I miss?

Shade: Chapter two of _Crimson Fall_ as you can see.

S-S: Oh. Yeah, meh. I saw the rough draft and it didn't seem very inspired… or any of your best work…

Shade: Perhaps… but come next chapter with some of the quite evsane exposition, and I am certain our inspiration will return.

Lucy: Definitely! Man, I am _so_ looking forward to—

S-S: *Clamps hand over Lucy's mouth* It seems you haven't broken your spoiling habit…

Angel: Ugh… I'm going back to sleep. This chapter raised more questions than answers…

S-S: Suit yourself.

Rudolph: Oooh! Please review!

_(PS: Yes, there's a reason why Jack and Rex were not included in the list of people the gang from the future must protect, despite being included in the list of people "Athena" said the fake Natsumi was going to kidnap.)_


	4. Chapter 3: Future of Despair, Part I

S-S: So my muses decided that this story was at the evillest point of all the ones I'm working on and that it should be updated.

Angel: Great…

Lucy: Well, you know us. That's kind of how we give stuff priority.

Meri: I think _Midnight Sun_ might get the next update. 24,000 Attack and Defense Points? Why not?

Muse-Jack: Ooh, or maybe _Memories of Destruction_. Considering what we just came up with involving Julius Kingsley…

S-S: You two, shut up! I don't want you spoiling everything!

Angel: What sort of monster has 24,000 ATK and DEF…?

Joseph: Neh, we're getting off-topic! I want _Crimson Fall_!

S-S: That's right, Joseph! Thanks!

Joseph: You're welcome, Shim!

S-S: Yeah, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds or the characters, just my OCs and pretty much the plot of this story. Enjoy more of the mind screwing!

***This chapter is brought to you by _Madder Sky_ from _Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion_***

**Chapter 3**

The rift is silent, like it isn't possible to speak in it. I don't think that's the case; it's more like something is preventing my voice from working. There's a dull buzzing in my head (though if that's from getting the butt end of a sword slammed into my head or some mystical force, I can't tell the difference). It probably is some mystical force—why else would my brother be this quiet when there are way too many questions to ask?

Then suddenly, Athena says, "'O, great dragon of the sky! O, mighty condor of the earth! Spread your wings for battle; clash until the other cannot live! Break the balance between light and dark, so that the three dark lights are granted the freedom to fulfil their roles! The first, to carry away the light. The second, to be the sacrifice whose lifeblood breaks the boundaries of worlds. And the third, to make the choice: to join with the darkness and become the Queen's vessel, or deny the right and end this turmoil!'"

I've heard that before… but I can't place it. And I still can't talk, to ask what she meant by that.

"Those words belong to a prophecy created by one Ayame Fudo during her time in the Netherworld," she continues. "A prophecy that turned out to be all too real."

A prophecy, huh? Strange that the first thing they talk about is some obscure prophecy…

"We've already changed the past enough by rescuing the lot of you from the false Natsumi's plan, but in order for you to be able to trust us, you have to see exactly what future we intend to change," Athena says.

"Definitely a dark one…" Pearl scoots a bit closer to Yusei, and it's now that I realize she's been sneaking glances at him. Weird.

Lucciano mutters something I can't hear, and the edges of the rift burst into color. A vision of the world they've escaped…

**XXX**

_The first scene of the future is only a short glimpse of the table we'd left behind, everyone unconscious around it. The one thing easily noted, though, was that Sky, Yusei, Natsumi's, Jack, and my father were all missing…_

_After an abrupt flash, the scene we're looking at changes to the inside of some dilapidated castle made out of dark stone; the walls crumpling to pieces, the ceiling of this area simply gone, what used to be royal violet tapestries scorched into almost unrecognizable shapes. In fact, the only thing not in ruins was the stone altar in the center of the room._

_I feel like I've seen this place before. On further thought, I remember when I __did—this was the place from Wiraqocha Rasca's memories where the Earthbound Immortals made their way to Earth through a portal. How could I forget? __…Well, the place _is _way__ more destroyed than I'd seen it. _

_There are no Earthbound Immortals here this time, though. The only occupants are those who had vanished from the dining table and, with the exception of Sky and Natsumi, are in their hybrid human-Dragon or human-Immortal forms. Natsumi looks the same as ever, but Sky is wearing some strange black dress__—I have _no_ clue what material it's made out of._

_"Wh-What the hell? Where are we?!" Jack shouts, almost knocking a loose block off the wall with one of his wings as he stands up, one hand holding his head._

_"Ugh__…" Yusei groans as he sits up, groggily surveying his surroundings. "I'm not sure Jack, but am I the only one who feels like they just woke up with a horrible hangover?"_

_Goodwin makes some sound__—a strange cross between a yelp and a gasp (which is extremely weird considering my father hardly ever loses his cool)__—before stuttering, "This is__… Y__-You__… N-None of you are supposed to be here. That's why__… That's why you're in pain."_

_"Are you sure? I feel right at home," Natsumi says. She smiles a little, looking up at Sky. That smile seems a bit on the creepy side__… "How about you, Sky? Don't _you_ feel right at home too?"_

_This has to be some sort of a joke; no, more like a cruel jab at the fact that Natsumi was born in the Netherworld and Sky spent the better part of four years buried in the depths of it. Why would Natsumi herself be making it, though__…?_

_Sky stands up slowly, her mouth a flat line. That soon changes into a sort-of scowl crossed with a smirk. "Esse, do you truly think you can continue to fool them when you stick out like a sore thumb?__"_

_"Esse? Sky, what are you talking about?" Yusei asks._

_Natsumi laughs, exploding in a burst of purple smoke. When it all dissipates, the thing standing in her place does not look like her at all. Instead, there is a rather busty young woman with olive-green eyes, her body covered in the skeleton of a dragon, the bones in her wings connected by black and green scales. Most of what would be skin that isn't already covered by the bones is made of those same scales, but her face remains relatively human. Her face__… it looks almost like an older version of my daughter, but the eyes and hair and age are wrong so that _has_ to be a coincidence. She spins around, giggling, like a little girl showing off a new dress. "Hi~! Nice to finally officially meet you all! I'm Esse, First and ONLY Princess of Nether! Isn't that so cool?"_

_Yusei stumbles backwards, mouth agape as he stares at the skeletal girl, his gaze sometimes shifting to his impassive-looking older sister. He tries to speak, but can't seem to muster the appropriate words._

_"What the fuck is going on here?" Jack demands, perfectly capturing the thought that was running through my mind at the same time._

_Sky adjusts the sleeves of her dress__… and then opens her eyes for what has to be the first time in ten years. She blinks a few times before a small smirk appears on her face. "Hm. A bit darker than I remember. Could this place have really deteriorated this quickly?"_

_"Hey! I asked a damn question!" Jack shouts, running towards Sky._

_The golden-haired woman flicks her wrist, and suddenly there is a little boy constricting Jack with some sort of dark magic, almost like puppet strings__—like __the ones used by the Shaddoll cards I used that one time. I can't see much more than his red eyes and stark-white hair; the rest of this boy's body is covered in a red cloak. Next to the boy, also trapped within his strings, is hybrid Natsumi. The real one._

_Sky raises an eyebrow. "Nebiros?"_

_The boy scowls slightly. "Esse decided to do this to me, and has refused to turn me back."_

_"Because it's _hilarious_!" Esse shouts. She sighs a little when Sky shoots her a look, and waves her hand. Instantly, the boy looks much older, though that's the only part of his appearance that changes. "You're no fun, Big Brother," she pouts._

_"Whatever," Nebiros says. With a flick of his wrist, the strings tied around Jack send him flying into one of the walls. It crumples on impact, leaving Jack temporarily buried under the rubble. He quickly digs his way free, glaring at Nebiros. The red-eyed man shrugs, "My apologies, Signer. You were asking for answers, weren't you? I believe I can supply them. This is the Netherworld, and you are here to become the sacrifices to allow my mother, Queen Sythini, to travel outside of this world in order to finally achieve her proper revenge against the Crimson Dragon."_

_…Sacrifices? Revenge? I don't like where this is going__… not one bit._

_"Revenge__… but why? We made peace with them!" Goodwin says. "There should be no reason to prolong the war!"_

_Sky doubles over when she starts laughing. "Peace? Hah! Look around you! The Netherworld is falling apart because of the Crimson Dragon. Soon, there will not_ be_ a Netherworld.__ Do you think that the Queen would simply let this slide because of some farce called 'peace'?!"_

_"Wh-What are you talking about, Sky?" Yusei asks._

_The woman finally stops laughing, instead standing straight up, staring directly at Yusei. She quotes the prophecy that her mother apparently made years ago, and proceeds to explain it. That Goodwin and Jack are supposed to fight to the death before Natsumi can absorb what light remains in this place. Then Yusei will have to die in order for Sky to become one with the Queen of the Netherworld. And the thing is__… it really sounds like she's going to go through with it._

_"I have to do this," Sky says. "And that's why all of you will as well, whether you like it or not."_

_The scene changes, though it's more of a strange sort of timeskip than an actual change._

_My breath catches in my throat, and I'm pretty sure my heart stops when I see the result of this timeskip. My father stands rigid, though heavily injured by slash marks and burns all over his body. Beneath him is Jack__… and only half of his face is even recognizable. The rest of his body is an unrecognizable mess of melted flesh and bone. And then, he vanishes._

_He's__… dead. Jack, at least from the future that these people are trying to change, is dead. And my father is his murderer._

_No. This isn't right. This can't _really_ be happening, can it?_

_Sky narrows her eyes at Natsumi, whom is standing__—still unresponsive__—next to the altar at the center of the destroyed room. The one Yusei is bound and gagged to. Nothing is happening to the girl, which is apparently the opposite of what Sky wants. "I don't understand. Natsumi should have absorbed the power by now. What's going on?!"_

_"Perhaps Wiraqocha Rasca and Red Dragon Archfiend were not the two specified by the prophecy?" Nebiros suggests. "Or perhaps the prophecy was simply nonsense to begin with."_

_"No, no, it can't be nonsense," Sky says, "otherwise I would be able to immediately take up the role of Queen Sythini. It has to be that they were the wrong ones, but that begs the question of who are the ones that fit?"_

_Wait, so then Jack died for no reason? If he and Father aren't the ones who fit, then why can't Sky have seen that to begin with? And why does Sky even want this so badly?_

_I can't even begin to imagine who fits instead of Jack and Goodwin; well, at least when it comes to Goodwin. He's Wiraqocha Rasca__—the Condor__—in human form, and the prophecy specifically stated that it had to be the "condor of the earth". If it wasn't him__… maybe that means it's supposed to be someone related to him? But that would mean me, Crow, or Uncle Roman. Maybe even Mother, but that's not a blood relation__…_

_"Wings! Of course!" Sky suddenly exclaims. "That was why I thought Jack would fill the role of the 'great dragon of the sky', but that actually points towards _both_ of the ones who have to fight! And both of them are Signers__—no wonder I was wrong!"_

_"Hm?" Nebiros looks just as confused as I am._

_I get it a second later. Both Signers. Both related to Goodwin. That means me and Crow._

_"Crow Hogan-Goodwin and Angel Tredwell. They're the children of Rex Goodwin, the Dark Signer for Wiraqocha Rasca. They also possess the powers of the Crimson Dragon, being Signers, though they have both used the power of an Earthbound Immortal, courtesy of being the Signers for two of the hybrid dragons. A crow is a type of bird, and angels are, well, heavenly figures. What do angels and crows have in common? Wings!" Sky finishes, taking in a deep breath. "I know it's a stretch, but it's better than nothing. Esse, go fetch those two, okay?"_

_"Sure thing!" The skeletal woman giggles before she vanishes._

_They're going to__… Crow and I__—at least the versions of us who are from the future that's being rewritten__—fought to the death? I-I can't__… and we're going to watch it__…?_

_The scene changes back to Earth, more specifically Martha's basement. It looks smaller than I remember, what with the main Signers who weren't taken, Ryuu, Ayame, my mother, Roman, Alice, Carly, Misty, Kalin, Toby, and Xylia, along with the children, packed inside. I see Carly hunched over, tears in her eyes but not actually falling, as she holds her son Vincent__—my God does it hurt to look at him right now since he looks like a four-year-old version of Jack__—in her arms. Both Alice and Xylia just look stunned, like most everyone else in the room._

_It's obvious that they know of Jack's death, but probably not why or how it happened._

_That's when Esse appears, in all of her horror. Akiza tugs Bruno behind her, Leo and Dexter both get in front of Luna, and Angel shields Athena while Toby shields them both. She quickly looks around the room before zeroing in on Crow and Angel with a malicious grin. "Hi~! So I know you guys don't know who I am, but I need you two for something totally awesome~!" She smacks herself in the head. "Oh, almost forgot, silly me. I'm Esse, First Princess of Nether. I gotta say I'm _super_ sorry about what happened to that one Signer__—I took the wrong guy by mistake. Whoopsie!"_

_None of them move. Esse must be doing something to keep them in place and silent._

_"Well, anyways, I kinda really need Angel and Crow to come back with me to the Netherworld. It's to save my home, you know? So, like, no hard feelings or anything." Two shadowy arm-like appendages shoot out of the ground from underneath her, and both look like they're going to grab Angel and Crow._

_That's when Toby, of all people, steps in between and somehow causes Esse to stop in her tracks. The shadow-hands hover in mid-air, almost like they're confused._

_"I won't let you touch them, you monster," Toby says._

_Esse cocks her head to the side, still grinning. "'Monster'? Aw, thanks for the compliment, human. It's not every day someone says something nice about me. You're pretty brave, for a normal human. It's a shame I have to kill you."_

_Wh-What?!_

_"To__…by, stop__…" Angel manages to get out._

_He shakes his head. "No way, Angel. I'm not letting this thing take you or your brother away."_

_"Suit yourself, boy." Esse flicks her wrist, and one of the shadow hands morphs into a shadow blade and__… stabs Toby through the heart._

_If I could make noise, I would probably be screaming just like the version of me in this scene is as Toby's body falls to the ground with a small blood pool around him. Even more so when the shadow blade turns back into a hand and they both grab her and Crow and drag them back to Nether with Esse._

_Of course, this wasn't even the _worst_ part about this future of despair that I would see. No, it was just the tip of the iceberg__…_

**To be continued****…**

S-S: That's it for this chapter.

Angel: …I don't even want to picture what's worse than this.

Meri: Well, there's all the other deaths, obviously.

Lucy: Mhmm! I think Crow's or yours or Akiza's might be the worst. Depends on the reader.

Angel: Can I quit this job?

S-S: Sorry, you're my OC. No quitting allowed.

Sky: *Pokes head in* Hey Angel, you definitely have it lucky. You should _see_ what they have planned for me in _Midnight Sun_.

Angel: Ugh… *Goes off to prepare herself for the rest of this torture*

S-S: Alrighty then. You guys know the deal; please review!


	5. Chapter 4: Future of Despair, Part II

Lucy: Hey guys! Look what we're updating now!

Angel: Oh god no…

S-S: Sorry, it's what happened.

Lucy: Well, duh. This chapter is essentially a wham-tastical chapter of evsanity. Why _wouldn't_ it happen?

S-S: …Because of Midnight Sun?

Meri: Nah, that one's next.

Sky: *In another room; shudders*

Shade: Ah, there, the finishing touches. The chapter may start now.

S-S: Oh, okay. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds, but I do own my OCs. Enjoy~!

***This chapter is brought to you by _Theme of Hope_, from _Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity_***

**Chapter 4**

_I'm still mentally frozen on the image of the future Toby being murdered by Esse when the next scene of the future starts to play. It's back in the Netherworld again, where the future version of me is simply on her knees, her eyes completely blank. Crow kneels down, grabbing her tightly by the shoulders, trying to shield her the best he can from the monsters around them._

"_Wait… Sky?!" Crow shouts when he sees her. "What are you—you can see?!"_

_She looks at him pointedly. "While I'm here in the Netherworld I can. But that is not what matters right now. I'm sorry, but one of you has to die, and the one who lives has to kill the other."_

_His eyes widen in alarm as he quickly looks at his sister, then back at Sky. Angel still doesn't seem to be registering anything other than the fact that Toby just died—and I have to admit, that would be my reaction had that happened to me. "The hell are you on, Sky? We're not gonna kill each other just 'cause you said so!"_

"_You have no choice in the matter," she replies. "Nebiros, go ahead."_

_The ghastly puppet master points one finger at each of the twin Signers. Instantly, his glowing purple strings have the two separated and standing, and with a snap the two are forced to bring out their Spirit Weapons. The black-and-red katana versus the green rapier._

"_What the hell?!" Crow screams, struggling within the strings._

_Angel blinks. "Wh-What is this…?"_

"_If the two of you will not fight, I'm afraid the power of the Fourth Prince of Nether will force you to do so," Sky answers. Then she turns to Nebiros. "I would prefer it if you did not favor either of them, but if you must, Angel should be the one to die. She can join her husband that way…"_

"_Toby…" Angel shakes her head fervently. "B-But, that would mean… my daughter…"_

"_No! Th-There's no way you can make us fight!" Crow screams, violently thrashing around in his bindings. Nebiros actually looks afraid as he struggles to keep Crow inside of the strings. But I know that's impossible; _no one _can _force _Crow to do anything. Ever. So it doesn't surprise me when Crow succeeds in detaching the psychic puppet strings from his body. It looks like that action even physically harms Nebiros… "I won't let you hurt my sister!"_

_Black-and-red energy surrounds Crow, and the feathers of his wings turn black. The energy sparks around his katana as he charges, screaming like a maniac. Nebiros, still in pain from his strings being cut, barely manages to put up a shield. It doesn't even help, the blade the Upper Tail Signer wields slicing through it like butter. _

"_Big Brother!" Esse screams, running at the two of them._

_An explosion sends pieces of the temple's ground flying. There's a cloud of debris surrounding the three, and when it dims… There's another cloud there, only this one is of black and violet sparkles, fluttering around for a brief time before they slowly start to disappear. Crow stands tall in the center of that cloud, turning back to face Sky. Neither Nebiros nor Esse remain…_

_Sky's eyes are wide with horror, and she collapses to her knees, holding one arm over her stomach while she covers her mouth with the other. "N-No… Nebiros… and Esse… they're both…!" Her eyes squeeze shut, and I see a few tears fall to the ground underneath her. With a firm shake of her head, the last few droplets vanish, and she stands back up. "Crow… why don't you understand?! This has to be done or else—"_

_He points the tip of his blade, covered in the blood of the fallen Prince and Princess of Nether, at her. "No, Sky, you're wrong. There's always a way without killing people."_

"_You think I haven't already tried that?!" the golden-haired woman cries, the tears back. "I've been trying… ever since _she _contacted me nearly five years ago. I'm the only one who has the power to restore the Netherworld back to order, but I don't _have _that power right now; it was all taken from me when I used it to bring Angel and Rex back to life!"_

_At the mention of her name, Angel blinks. Other than that she makes no response._

"_Such a selfish move of mine, and now the punishment finally arrives," Sky continues, clenching her fist above her chest. "If the Netherworld's balance is not restored and soon, every creature tied to it will cease to exist. That _includes _the Earthbound Immortals, even though they walk on Earth right now. And… I'd have to say, it might also include you, Crow, you and the other four hybrids."_

_Wait… that means… all of the Dark Signers, me, Crow, basically Yusei's entire family, _and _Yusei will all die anyways? That… that can't be right._

"_Wh-What?!" Crow demands, his sword dipping slightly._

"_Look up there," Sky says, turning her head to the sky. It's at that point when I see that there's a faint outline in the sky, some sort of rainbow colors separating two different shades of darkness. The line extends across the entire sky of the Netherworld, and seems to be shrinking. "You see it, don't you? The world veil which keeps each world intact has been weakened so drastically that the Void it is supposed to hold at bay is coming ever closer. Thanks to the Earthbound Immortals' insistence on living in the Human World and the deaths of both Nebiros and Esse, the Netherworld will be completely consumed in just a short while."_

"_The Void…?"_

"_The nothingness which fills the space between worlds… anything that it absorbs is lost forever, wouldn't you think?" Sky explains. "That's why I have to be able to fix it, no matter what. The lives of a few for the lives of many… You understand, don't you Crow?"_

"_Ngh…" he looks away, clenching his fists. He _does _understand; after all, that's happened before, when Father and I died to save everyone else. It should just… never be an option in the first place. Why can't everyone be saved?_

"_I truly wish there was some other way. But there just isn't…"_

_Silence. Crow looks at his katana, then at his sister. He immediately shakes his head fervently. "N-No, I can't even _think _of doing that! You've… gotta be lying! I still won't—" He suddenly cuts off, looking at Yusei in surprise. Right, there must be some telepathic communication going on right now. As soon as it's done, Crow's face twists in rage, "I was right, you _are _lying to us! You were just talking about how this was the way to get the Queen out of the Netherworld in order to get her revenge on the Crimson Dragon."_

_Sky looks down. "That… that was the lie. I didn't want—I thought that if I—I…" She's back on her knees again, crying. "I wanted all of you to hate me, then maybe it wouldn't be so hard to do this. So… So I came up with a lie that would make me seem selfish. I suppose it was good enough if Yusei fell for it…"_

"_But… if you lied then, how do we know you're telling the truth?!" Crow demands. "I can't trust you anymore, Sky!"_

_The woman points at a section of the wall that had fallen, the Marks of the Giant, Phoenix, and Panther barely recognizable on it. A faint purple aura glows around it, and the thing flies into the air. Once it hits the ever-shrinking world veil, it appears to shatter into shards of light, absorbed by the nothingness on the veil's other side. "You see now? All the Void does is take and take and take, always wishing to expand. If you cannot take my words at face value, at least believe that."_

**XXX**

_I'm not sure how much time passes, but it clearly did because now the world veil's boundaries are only a hundred feet above the ground. Crow's sitting, his head in his hands. Angel is still mostly unresponsive, though she has started crying. Natsumi is _completely _unresponsive, still standing next to the altar. Yusei… is unconscious?_

_And Sky is tapping her foot, almost impatiently. She looks up at the sky again, her eyes narrowing. "That's enough, you've had time to think. The time for decision is now, unless you _want _to kill every innocent being connected to the Netherworld."_

"_J-Just… gimme another minute," Crow pinches the bridge of his nose. "This isn't—I can't even _think _of trying to kill my sis…"_

"_Then… don't think about it, just do it," Angel suddenly whispers, drying her tears and looking at her twin. "I really don't care about any of this right now. I just… I just…!"_

"_Oh, don't you _dare _start this shit again, Angel!" Crow shouts back. "I already let you die once, and I sure as hell am _not _being the cause of it the second time!"_

_I watch my own eyes glaze over, and I wish I knew what was going through my head because the next thing I know, Angel's grip tightens around her Spirit Weapon. She stares at the blade for a moment, then looks at Sky. "You said… we needed to fight, right? And that will give you the power to fix this place?"_

_Sky purses her lips, eyes narrow, and nods._

"_Then… Then if you won't kill me, I'll just force you to!" Catapulting herself off the ground, Angel runs at Crow. She attempts to stab him through the heart, but he dodges fast enough._

_The rest of the fight quickly devolves into Crow trying to dodge or block the wild swings and stabs of my future self. Each time the Spirit Weapons clash, the world veil shrinks even more. And it just keeps going, Crow yelling at her to stop and Angel simply begging him to kill her already._

"_N-Ngh! I _said _I don't want to do this!" Crow shouts, slamming the hilt of his blade into Angel's wrist. She drops the blade on reflex, and he quickly scoops it up and holds it away from her. "I won't kill you, Angel."_

_Fifty feet. The one-grand spires of the Netherworld's castle and some of its upper levels have fallen victim to the Void already, and I can hear faint screams from the horizon, those inhabitants of the Netherworld whom are watching their home collapse on itself…_

"_Enough!" Sky shouts with enough force she could have stopped a bird in mid-flight. "This is going nowhere, and Angel clearly wants to die. Give me your Spirit Weapon, Crow; I'll do it myself."_

_My brother narrows his eyes at her. "Wait… you mean that it only has to be the other's _Spirit Weapon _that kills one of us? Not one of us killing the other?"_

_The soon-to-be-Queen of the Netherworld folds her arms. "Ideally, it should be either you killing her or her killing you. But that would be correct, only the Spirit Weapon is needed for it holds the majority of your respective dragon's power."_

_The Upper Tail Signer looks at his katana, then at Sky… and then at his sister's blade. Black-Winged Dragon's weapon vanishes in a swirl of black-and-red feathers, and suddenly he's turning Angel's blade on himself, much to the surprise of the others in the dilapidated temple. "I said… I wasn't gonna let my sister die again."_

_And he plunges the rapier into his chest._

**XXX**

_A voiceless scream shakes me to my very core. If I could actually scream, I would. How _else _am I supposed react to my brother literally killing himself in front of me? _

…

_My sentiments are shared with the other version of me, screaming at him as he bleeds out in moments, shattering into tiny pieces of red light not unlike Nebiros and Esse had earlier. She keeps screaming, hunched over her knees and crying, until the screams just turn into sobs._

"_Well… I suppose that works," Sky says, her hands shaking ever so slightly. That ornamental dagger, adorned with a black and twisting version of the Crimson Dragon, appears in one of them as she walks back to her two siblings at the altar._

_Natsumi gasps, her eyes turning crimson as the complete Seal of the Dragon appears on her back and the Mark of the Envoy overrides her own. Her body turns rigid for a moment, and then she relaxes, a slight crimson aura surrounding her. "You are truly going to go through with this, Sky Fudo?" The voice that comes out of Natsumi's body is a mixture of her own and the one I remember belonging to Crimson._

"_Unfortunately, this is the only way and you know it," the golden-haired woman replies, steeling herself over her brother. Both of her hands wrap around the dagger, and she closes her eyes, one last tremble shaking her arms. It looks like she whispers something to herself. Then, slightly louder… "Forgive me, Yusei."_

_Yusei, still unconscious for some reason, has no such reaction._

_She stabs the knife into her younger brother's heart, and instantly a purple sphere of energy surrounds her and the altar. The sphere expands outward, momentarily blocking all view of the Netherworld as it strikes against the Void. Unlike everything else I've seen touch it, the sphere of energy does not waver or disappear, it turns into a much stronger version of the rainbow-colored veil. Now it was the Void that could not be seen._

_Sky… and now Yusei is gone too…_

_Her hair and eye color remain the same, though the whites of her eyes have turned black. The black dress she had been wearing has turned into a much more leathery material, with black feathers lining the inside of it. Two sets of bat-like wings stretch out of her back, and if I squint close enough I can see that there are lines on those wings that glow black… somehow._

"_Why, hello Crimson, how nice it is to finally speak to you again," Sythini, the Queen of the Netherworld says. "It's been how long, exactly? …Oh, but that doesn't matter right now. I need to work on fixing up my home, so if you would please…?"_

"_You led three of my Signers to their deaths," Crimson replies, crossing her arms and glaring at Immortal Queen. "This is hardly 'nice'."_

_Sythini waves her hand dismissively, "Yes, well, you and your Signers caused me grief for so long with your insistence on stamping out my world. This can be considered me returning the favor."_

_Crimson opens her mouth to argue, then looks away, frustrated. "Very well then… I should get going soon, with the Lower Tail Signer, I suppose."_

"_Oh, just one more thing," Sythini says. "You know Crimson, even after all this time, you've twisted the truth so far it took a human who shouldn't even have a soul to realize what it really was."_

_Red eyes narrow as the dragon asks, "Why bring this up now?"_

"_Well, I wanted to know if looking like the savior of the world really was so necessary."_

_Silence._

_Sythini smirks. "Then you've brought this upon yourself."_

_The Queen spreads her arms wide, and a web of dark energy entangles the vulnerable human form of the Crimson Dragon. Before she can so much as protest, it entirely surrounds her, slowly shrinking until the only way Natsumi can possible fit is in the fetal position… and then she throws that spherical prison into the Void._

"_Milon, prepare the vanguard. Tonight the lineage of the Crimson Dragon ends," Sythini tells someone waiting in the shadows._

**To be continued…**

Angel: *Gawks* I… I can't even…

Lucy: Told you it was gonna be a wham-tastical chapter of evsanity.

Meri: Heck, this is borderline _muse_sanity.

S-S: Yes, yes, well, now that you guys have gotten this out of your system, how about taking a break for a little while…? Maybe work on Shimmer or something?

Lucy: …Nah, we've got other things to work on. Like Code-V, Midnight Sun, Memories of Destruction…

Shade: You mustn't forget Lost Future.

Meri: Or… _that_ story.

S-S: Shhh, no mentioning it yet. I want it to be a surprise once it goes up.

Meri: What, all I called it was "_that_ story"!

Joseph: *Snores*

Angel: *Rubs head* I don't even know anymore. Can you guys review? Maybe it'll get me out of this hellhole faster…


	6. Chapter 5: Future of Despair, Part III

Lucy: …Well finding those two idiot referees isn't going so well, so we might as well work on something. I'm feeling Crimson Fall. What about you guys?

Meri: Heck yeah!

Shade: I agree.

Joseph: Eh, I woulda said Code-V, but whatevs. Crimson Fall it is!

Angel: Don't I get a say in this?!

S-S: When have you ever had a choice?

Rudolph: Hey so we don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds, but we do own our OCs and stuff! Enjoy!

***This chapter is brought to you by _Living Spirit_ from _Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky_, though to be more accurate, I mean the piano version of it composed by Bespinben on YouTube***

**Chapter 5**

_The next thing I know, the scenery is back on Earth, but… well, it doesn't look good at all. An endless wave of the Netherworld's soldiers—humanoids with bat-like wings, everything else obscured with black armor lined in similar patterns to some of the Earthbound Immortals—have Martha's orphanage surrounded. I have no idea where the children are, but I can see Akiza, Leo, and Luna inside of a circle made by Kalin, Misty, Yusei's parents, Roman, and my mother. All of them look worse for wear—and I can't see any of the other Signers or Dark Signers._

_And then the wave of creatures suddenly parts, Sky walking though the space. She's definitely changed—both of her eyes a cold blue surrounded in black. It hurts to see her like this because I know that isn't _really _Sky but Sythini, the Queen of the Netherworld and the one who ordered this attack._

_Both Ryuu and Ayame Fudo lower their weapons, shock writing itself onto their faces. They'd thought all of their children had perished in Nether—but for Sky to be here… "Sky…?"_

"_I am not Sky anymore. I am Sythini, Queen of Nether. That said, Shimi Nolidae, Choco Airutan, Uru, Ccapac Apu, Ccarayhua, and Dai Aurelius." Sythini paused each time, looking pointedly at each of the Dark Signers whose Immortal she had named. "Please, stand aside. My qualms lie with the Crimson Dragon, not the lot of you."_

"_Tch. Like hell we will!" Kalin shouts, charging at the Queen. His fists glow a bright violet for a second as he attempts to punch the woman. Attempts being the key word._

_Sythini simply shakes her head, eyes closed. "I was afraid it would have to be the hard way." She opens them, and they flash gold for a moment before returning to the blue-in-black. "But no matter your own beliefs, my blood runs within your veins! As Queen of Nether, you cannot disobey my orders!"_

_Kalin stops mid-strike, his eyes wide and all the breath sucked out of his lungs as if someone had just punched him in the gut. His mark glows a bright purple and he screams in pain for a brief moment. Then his limbs fall limp, and he stands up straight. Too straight, too rigid, like a puppet almost. "Forgive me," he mutters, standing aside._

"_Kalin, what are you…?" Misty begins to ask._

"_It's as I said. The Earthbound Immortals cannot disobey me," Sythini says, eyes narrow. "Therefore, the lot of you, stand aside this instant. The curse of the Crimson Dragon ends today."_

_I hold my breath, watching as they try struggling against the command as much as they can. I want to look away from the sight, all of them writhing in pain and screaming, but I can't. I'm fixated on the scene, much as I don't want to be. And the forces of the Netherworld along with Sythini, they just stand there…_

_Misty is the first to fall, with nothing more than a single tear portraying her real thoughts._

_Ryuu follows her shortly after, mumbling, "Yusei… Natsumi… Sky… I'm sorry… I couldn't…"_

"_Ryuu! S-Stop, you know this isn't the right—" Ayame's frantic plea cuts off, and she joins her husband on the side of Nether._

_And then a miracle happens. A rift in the sky opened up, green fire spilling out of it. The flames barrel towards Akiza, Leo, Luna, and the only two Dark Signers still fighting for control, Roman and my mother. And… for some reason, I feel like that fire isn't going to harm them, so I feel bothered by it._

_The fire hits the ground and vanishes, taking those five with it._

_Sythini stares at the spot that used to hold those that used to be her greatest friends and were now her greatest enemies. The impassive look on her face melted away slightly with her frowning, eyes clearly sad now. "They just don't understand… why this has to be done…"_

"_What should we do now, Grandmother?"_

_Behind the Queen stand all of the Earthbound Immortals in hybrid form, bar Uru, Wiraqocha Rasca, and Dai Aurelius. Looks like Kalin, no, Ccapac Apu wasn't the first one she forced to her side. Wholeheartedly devoted to destroying the Signers… it hurts to see them like this. They're my friends…_

"_Return to Nether for now. We will come up with a strategy to find or draw them out of hiding soon enough," Sythini declares. After they all follow her orders, Sythini looks up at the sky one last time. It had been completely clear before she arrived. Now thick clouds block out the sun, casting shadows on everything. "It's inevitable, then…?" She sighs, looking down. "Uru, Dai Aurelius, I will find you soon enough. I don't wish to fight either of you… but…"_

_The scene fades away before she finishes._

**XXX**

I blink a few times before I realize that my eyes are full of tears and I'm also _not_ staring at another scene but instead at the thin mask covering Athena's face. She stands up, focusing on the space behind me. "Jose? Miles? What's happening there?"

A disgusting feeling settles in my stomach. We're inside a rift of the space-time continuum, but those two are the ones that stayed behind to protect the others. Something's… not right back on Earth, is it?

"…I see, very well. Pearl, Paradox, and I shall come to assist the both of you. We'll be there momentarily." She turns, motioning to the two others she'd named.

Paradox stands up immediately, adjusting the black-and-white mask on his face. "Some of Nether's forces are attacking them, aren't they?"

"Just a small number, but enough to cause trouble. They seem to underestimate our power," Athena answers.

Pearl, on the other hand, shivers. "Ooooh, I don't want to fight. B-But… Miles is fighting, so…" She stands up, taking Athena's hand. This girl is too young to be in a war—_any_ sort of war. She shouldn't have to think about things like this. How much _more_ ruined is the future than what we've already seen?

"Lucciano, Placido, please behave while you show them the rest of our future."

I can tell that Placido is scowling even if I can't see his face. I don't see why he hates Yusei so much… nothing we've seen so far shows anything of the sort. Lucciano, on the other hand, shrugs his shoulders. "Whatever you say, Athena," he says, leaning back slightly.

When Athena, Pearl, and Paradox leave, the scenery fades back to another vision…

**XXX**

_Rainbow sparks dance across the floor of the room, the only source of light other than a dim bulb from the hallway. It's empty for a moment—enough for me to recognize it as the Original Reactor, the place where Ayame defeated both my uncle and my father in the Signer-Dark Signer War. This place brings back bad memories… but I can't focus on that too much because the green fire reappears—this time as the outline of _Daigusto Tornado Dragon—_before disappearing, leaving behind Akiza, Leo, Luna, Roman, my mother… and future Angel as well, all six of them unconscious._

_Everyone stirs almost simultaneously, well, everyone except Angel._

"_Where…?"_

"_Angel!" Miyuki shrieks upon seeing the future version of me still unconscious. She crawls over to her daughter, lifting her head onto her lap, cradling it gently. Miyuki's eyes narrow sadly. "If Angel is here… then that must mean…"_

"_Nnn…" Angel groans a little before her eyes lazily open. She blinks a few times. "Mother…? What's going on… where are we?" But before anyone has a chance to respond, she jolts out of her mother's lap, eyes wide and mouth open in a silent scream. Her entire body shakes. "N-No… I remember… Oh god, I remember…! They-They're all dead…!"_

_Akiza flinches, completely turning away. It's clear she was trying to pretend Yusei hadn't died, but Angel just confirmed the truth._

"_But… But…! How am I here? I shouldn't be here. I should be dead. I-I… I shouldn't… He shouldn't have…" Angel closes her eyes, pulling at her hair. "No, no, no! This is all wrong! Crow should be the one alive right now, not me. It should be him. Why did he have to…? Crow… Crow…! WHY DID HE HAVE TO LEAVE ME TOO?!"_

_Her sobbing fills the silence of the expansive room. In fact, it is the only noise made until Akiza suddenly spins around, her eyes dry but wide in horror. "Bruno! And Martha, and Shoshan, and the other children! They're still at Martha's house, aren't they? Th-They're in danger!"_

**XXX**

_As expected, the next scene takes place back at Martha's house, specifically in her secret basement. It doesn't look like anyone is injured or anything, but the door is barred and Martha stands with her back to it, her ladle ready to whack something as though it would make a difference. Shoshan is trying, but failing miserably, at keeping Bruno, Vincent, Athena, and the various orphans Martha cares for from crying. It's like they know something wrong just happened—_

_Oh god. I actually feel myself gag; they haven't exactly moved Toby's… Toby anywhere, just covered him with a sheet. And there's dried blood that seems to have seeped out from under the sheet. No wonder the kids know something is wrong._

_Athena sobs, then hiccups almost immediately after. She looks at the sheet and reaches for it. "I-I wa' D-ddy!"_

_Shoshan catches her. "No, Athena. You can't… You just can't. I'm sorry." His voice cracks as he continuously apologizes to the now-screaming three-year-old. She struggles in his arms, but there's no way a little girl can beat an adult._

…_At least, not until Sky—no, Sythini, I remind myself—suddenly shows up in the room. She looks no different than she had last I saw her in these visions, well… no, she's carrying herself differently now, shoulders raised higher, back straightened, and head held high. Like… Like a proud ruler who has been alive for milennia._

"_Sk-Sky!" Shoshan shouts, releasing Athena as he stands up immediately. He readies his Duel Disk—as much good that will do against an ancient deity—and attempts a glare that fails miserably. "I won't… I won't let you hurt the kids, and I won't let you hurt my friends either!"_

"_Friends… you mean the remaining Signers, do you not?" Sythini narrows her eyes. "But Shoshan, don't you know? You're the one who must stand by my side: Xithyl, the King of the Netherworld. Won't you come peacefully?" She eyes the Duel Disk, which he hadn't put away yet. "I take that as a no. Wishful thinking, I suppose. Then, you intend to Duel me with this on the line?"_

_Shoshan swallows. "If that's what it takes to keep everyone else safe… even if I know I'm probably going to lose…"_

"_You'll fight _knowing _you'll lose and cease existing as Shoshan Fudo as a result?"_

_He bites his lip a little, trembling as he replies, "If I didn't go down fighting, I wouldn't be me. Besides…" At this, his green eyes filled with determination. "…If I win, you have to give me back Sky. A-And the Dark Signers, too. And—"_

"_Bring those I've killed back as well?" Sythini finishes. She shakes her head. "You ask for too much. I can grant my descendents their free will again, and perhaps revive those who've died, but… are you sure that you want Sky back? What if she isn't the same as the one you know?"_

"_She's… She's still my wife, and I know the real her is in there somewhere! I won't let you tell me anything different!" The background of the orphanage fades away, and now the the two adults are alone in a darkened world filled with ice. Shoshan stands tall now, not flinching in the slightest at the bittercold now digging into his skin. "We'll Duel here, Sythini! I'll win for sure now!"_

_The Queen observes her surroundings with a touch of surprise. "Creating your own dimension…? And forcing me into it? Yes, if I hadn't been sure before, this proves that you are indeed Xithyl…" The surprise vanishes, and she extends her arm. A violet-colored gauntlet appears on her arm, with a blackened Monster Card Zone sticking out of it. "However, you've made the mistake of leaving me with my powers…" Then she snaps her fingers. Above the two appears a cage made of shadows. Vincent, Bruno, and Athena are all inside._

_Shoshan stares at it in horror. "Wha—this is just between the two of us! How dare you take hostages?!"_

"_Another stake in our game," Sythini answers. "They carry the blood of the Crimson Dragon due to their parents; therefore they are my enemies regardless of how old they are. I will kill them should you lose… and set them free should you win. Need I remind you that you created many more conditions for this game than I and this evens it out?"_

_He grits his teeth, clenching his fists. "Fine. Then, this Duel settles it!"_

**Shoshan's Life Points: 4000, Sythini's Life Points: 4000**

"_I'll go first!" Shoshan declares, drawing a card. His eyes narrow at one card in his hand, and he looks at Sythini. "Yes… I couldn't have asked for a better card to bring Sky back. I pay half my Life Points and discard all the other cards in my hand in order to activate the Field Spell _Dragonspiral Tower_!"_

**Shoshan's Life Points: 2000**

_Instead of the world of ice, the two now stood atop a very tall, spiralling tower made of stone. The walls, blue, and the floor, tan. Though, some of the pillars that should hold up the ceiling have collapsed; the tower seems to be in disrepair._

"_I can only activate this card by paying those costs when I control no cards," Shoshan explains, "but, my Field Spell's effect more than makes up for it! It lets me mill cards from my Deck equal to the Level of a monster I wish to Summon from my Deck or Extra Deck, ignoring the Summoning conditions. I mill twelve cards… and Special Summon _Reshiram, Goddess of Light_!"_

_A burst of light appears in the sky above, and then a dragon descends from it. It is white, claws attached to its wings, and tail shaped like a generator. Though the one thing that surprises me about this dragon is the fact that it's covered in fur instead of scales._

"_And as I'm sure you're well aware, Sky, _Reshiram's _ATK and DEF are equal to the number of cards in my Graveyard times 500!"_

**Reshiram, Goddess of Light ATK/DEF: 8500**

_Sythini stares at the dragon in some form of awe. "You kept that card, after all this time? Even though you could never use it?"_

"_Of course I did!" Shoshan retorts. "She's… the last card you gave me—other than _Celestial Dragon - Quasar—_before… that incident after you were arrested."_

_The woman's eyes harden. "After _Sky _was arrested, not me. Do I need to remind you again that I am not Sky?"_

"…_I can't attack on the first turn, so that's it for my turn."_

_Sythini shakes her head. "You've already lost."_

…

"_MY TURN! DRAW!"_

**To be continued…**

Angel: …And of course that all happened.

Faith: Hey, at least no one died this time.

Angel: *Glares at her*

S-S: …*Far-off sigh*

Angel: *Stops glaring, looks at Shimmering-Sky* Something wrong?

S-S: Huh? Oh… no, it's just… marching band season is officially over now, so I'll have more time to write, but… it's just… *Cries*

Piano: She's gonna miss the people who are seniors next year when marching band starts up again next year. That's what's wrong..

Angel: Huh. …Guess that explains why you're working on this story. The insanity goes unregulated.

Lucy: Pfft, no, that award goes to Code-V, but for some reason Kaito is so friggin hard to write properly so the next chapter isn't getting done as fast as we want to. But, like, the insanity for the upcoming arcs in that story…

Meri: Wait, wait… let's see… I think, including the [SPOILERS], the death toll is, what, at least twenty now? Most of those occurring in our Xyz Dimension arc but a few saved for the Synchro arc?

Muse-Jack: Sounds about right.

Angel: …

S-S: *Stops crying* Yeah, at some point I just decided to stop trying to contain them, at least for that story. Guess the fact that it's a Code Geass crossover didn't slip them by.

Angel: You're… a really bad person.

S-S: Oh well. …So, I hope you guys leave a review!


	7. Chapter 6: Future of Despair, Part IV

Angel: Oh crap, if I'm here, that means…

Lucy: Bingo. Crimson Fall!

Z.Z.: I still believe that Memories of Destruction should be worked upon.

Meri: Yeah, well, you're not a muse, so you have no say in things!

Z.Z.: *Slips away while smirking*

S-S: Well this is lovely. Are we done here? We're done. Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds, but I own my OCs.

Joseph: LOOK OUT FOR THE CHARACTER DEATHS!

Everyone: JOSEPH! SHUT UP!

***The first scene of this chapter is brought to you by _Surprise Attack: Yveltal_, from _Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon_. The rest of this chapter is brought to you by _It Can't Be…_ from _Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky_***

**Chapter 6**

_Sythini throws her arm out, pointing at Shoshan. "Your Field Spell. Does the effect apply for me as well?"_

_Shoshan grimaces. "Uh… yeah, it does. But, but you couldn't possibly benefit from so many cards in the Graveyard."_

_"Perhaps not, but it is a decent enough price to pay," she responds. "Then, because of your Field Spell, I can bypass requiring all of the Earthbound Immortals in my Graveyard and, instead, mill twelve cards in order to Special Summon my eldest child: _Xolotl, First Prince of Nether_!"_

_A dark aura surrounds the area behind Sythini, expanding outside of the tower. There's some sort of a pulse, but I can't see anything of the new monster except for its head, looming over the tower. It has two curved horns, one on either side of its head, and there are white lines trailing all around it._

**Xolotl, First Prince of Nether ATK: 8000, DEF: 8000, Level -12**

_Shoshan peels his eyes off of the monster in order to look at his opponent. "Only 8000 ATK? You're 500 short of my Reshiram… unless its effect…!" He frowns slightly. "No, you couldn't use its effect, not with _Reshiram_ out. And I forgot to mention this, but the turn you activate _Dragonspiral Tower's_ effect, you can't Normal Summon or activate Spell or Trap Cards. So there's… no point…"_

_Sythini shakes her head, selecting one card in her hand and holding it high. "You're wrong, Shoshan. Your Field Spell does not seal off other Special Summons the turn its effect is used. And… by banishing one face-up _Xolotl, First Prince of Nether_, I can bring forth… my very essence!"_

_The ground quivers briefly before shaking violently, sending Shoshan scrambling across the rock. The tower is simply crumbling around the both of them, though Sythini is unaffected by the destruction. Her eyes glow a bright purple as a whirlwind kicks up behind her, sending more rock flying everywhere. Shoshan grits his teeth, grabbing a mostly-sturdy column for leverage. But… there's no denying the fact that he looks terrified out of his mind right now._

_And I don't blame him._

_"_O mighty queen and vessel of my power, appear before us now, that I may strike down all those who would oppose the Netherworld!_" Sythini shouts, tilting her head back. A dark aura envelops her, to the point where all I can see in her direction is darkness. But I still hear her voice… "_Transcend the boundaries placed on us eons ago! Advent, Queen of the Netherworld!_"_

_Everything goes dark, and it seems like the light has no inclination of returning. All I can see are two large, cold mismatched blue-and-gold eyes looming in the general area that Sythini was a moment ago. Then lightning flashes purple, illuminating the outline of a winged creature made out of… black goo? And Shoshan just stares at the creature, mouth agape and body frozen. It seems Sythini has vanished… and something that looks like it could be a Duel Disk juts out of one of the creature's appendages…_

**Queen of the Netherworld ATK/DEF/Level: ERROR. NON-EXISTENTyouCARDfailedDATA. CANNOTtoDISPLAYdefeatCARDmeEFFECTS.**

"I TOLD YOU AT THE START THAT YOU WOULD LOSE, AND NOW YOU HAVE," _Sythini's voice echoes from the shadows._ "NOW THEN, RETURN TO MY SIDE, XITHYL!"

_"No… No, I can't have lost, I still have Life… Points…" Shoshan stares incredulously at his Duel Disk._

**Winner: Sythini**

_"But—But…!" He looks around frantically for something—anything—to help him, but this world of his own creation offers up no aid to its creator. A dark aura appears around him, and a single tear slides down his cheek as his shoulders sag. "I'm so sorry everyone… no, Sky. I'm sorry that I failed you…" He pauses for a moment before turning his attention to the cage holding Vincent, Bruno, and Athena. "The least I can do is…"_

_Both the cage and the children inside of it disappear in a burst of light._

**XXX**

_The scene twists back to the Reactor, where the last remaining Signers—and uncorrupted Dark Signers—are holding on to the ground for dear life as the entire building shakes. None of them have any idea what's happening, and frankly neither do I._

_And then, just like that, the shaking stops, and the three children whose lives had been threatened by the Queen of Nether are suddenly there, unconscious still. Naturally Akiza immediately rushes to Bruno's side, frantically looking for any injuries. Angel just picks up her unconscious daughter and slowly rocks back and forth—silent tears fall down her face again. And Vincent, with neither of his parents here, is picked up by my mother._

_"_Guys_," Shoshan's voice suddenly echoes through the expansive room, "_you have to stay here from now on. There's no way to fight the Queen, she's too strong. …Anyways, I put a barrier around this place—now nothing else from the Netherworld can get in. Not even… Not even me. I'm sorry…_"_

_"Not even yourself? What do you mean, Shoshan?" Akiza asks even though she can't see him._

_There's no response._

_Then…_

_"I see, so that's why…" Angel mutters. "They couldn't fight fate after all."_

_"What's that mean?"_

_"You guys remember when Wiraqocha Rasca showed us the truth about the war between the Signers and Dark Signers, right?" Angel pauses, shaking her head. "Of course you remember, how could anyone forget something like that. …It's just, the Queen and King of Nether that were in that vision of the past, they looked just like Sky and Shoshan. And with Sky already accepting her role, it was only natural that Shoshan would, too…"_

_They're all silent as they grudgingly accept the truth. That Shoshan is another of their friends to fall to Sythini's will. At least he was able to provide some sort of safe haven for them, but how long would that last? And how exactly were they supposed to live in a half-destroyed building that held the Original Reactor, not things they would need like clean water and food?_

**XXX**

"Well, it's not the most _ideal_ place to live, but that building was the only place you guys could stay without getting caught and killed," Lucciano says as the scene fades. "There was actually a store of nonperishable food and water in one of the storage rooms, and you lived off of that for over two years, trying to figure out where to go from there." He looks to Placido, as if it's his turn to speak instead. But the red-eyed man simply edges farther away from everyone and sulks.

"…Okay, guess it's up to me to explain everything," Lucciano eventually decides on. "Well, as I was saying, two years. In that time, little Bruno got himself a little sister, and Luna had a son of her own. Meanwhile, Sythini was strengthening her forces, intending an attack on those allied with the Crimson Dragon: the residents of the Spirit World."

_Uh-oh, that can't be good…_

"Naturally, Leo and Luna weren't just going to sit idly by and let their Duel Spirit friends get slaughtered—even if they were the only remaining Signers that could travel to the Spirit World." He tenses his hands slightly, and looking closely, I can see that the boy's shoulders are starting to tremble. "This… is the result."

**XXX**

_The forest is burning, and so is the small town. The castle on the hill has already fallen, smoke clogging the air. Black creatures fly through the smoke, picking off any Duel Spirit lucky enough to escape the wrath of the Netherworld. It's in the center of the burning village where most of the black creatures are concentrated, because Leo and Luna are there, putting up some sort of barrier that's shielding a few small Spirits, while Ancient Fairy Dragon and Life Stream Dragon launch attacks through the barrier. It's a valiant effort, and they seem to be killing a lot of the creatures, but Leo and Luna are both on the verge of collapsing._

_Luna's trembling badly while she says, "L-Leo… I can't… keep this up…"_

_"I-I know… but we have to…" her brother replies. "If we don't, then—gh!"_

_The barrier shatters, sending a force strong enough to knock both Signers and their Dragons down. They're too weak to get back up._

_"Hold," a voice booms over the chaos, and the black creatures immediately stop attacking. The voice belongs to a tall, dragon-like figure. His wings look almost exactly like those that the Queen has, and upon thinking about it, I actually recognize this creature. I just can't think of his name. Didn't Choco Airutan show me him in a flashback…? "Ancient Fairy. Life Stream. I am Milon, the Second Prince of Nether. I will give you one choice: surrender yourselves and your allies, and you will die swift—"_

_Leo pushes himself off the ground just enough to be able to spit on the ground in front of Milon. "No way… we'd _never_… surrender…!"_

_There's a pause, and then a spear appears in Milon's hand. The tip is entirely black, and the shaft is traced by silver. He flips it over, tip pointed at Leo now, and thrusts down. Luna scrambles up and ducks over her brother, screaming his name. There's a flash, and blood splatters the ground._

_Luna… Luna's taken the spear right through the chest, the blade mere inches from Leo's heart. Her blood drips down the metal onto her brother's clothing, and her arms tremble with the little energy she has holding herself up. "Le…o… y… h've… t'… go ba-ack… Li-Live… and… keep… L…s'r… safe… I love you…"_

_And then she shatters into pieces alongside Ancient Fairy Dragon and Leo screams as he's forced to run back to the Original Reactor because there's nothing left for him in the Spirit World even though he wants to kill that bastard prince for what he did—_

_He gets back to Earth and all he can do is cry. Angel looks at him pitifully as she holds her daughter close. Akiza offers him a shoulder to cry on, even though the blood on his clothes is still fresh. Miyuki looks at the almost-two-year-old she's bouncing gently in her arms—a boy with maroonish-brown hair—and cries. Roman isn't there, and neither are the other children._

**XXX**

_Akiza, Angel, and all of the children are in a small room that looks like it's been converted into a child's room. There are two beds and a crib, along with a bunch of worn-down toys. They're all sitting in a circle, with the exception of whatever Akiza's daughter's name is sitting on her lap. …Actually, I don't know her name or the name of Luna's son. Lucciano didn't mention it and they haven't been referred to yet by name. But just looking at the boy almost hurts because now all I can think about is Luna dying in the Spirit World. Apparently I'm not the only one hung up on that. It's muffled, but as Akiza stops in the middle of a sentence in the tattered book she was reading, there's still a noise filling the room: someone crying and screaming and moaning loudly._

_Luna's son tenses but doesn't say a word._

_Instead, it's Athena that pipes up, tugging on her mother's sleeve saying, "Mommy… I don't like that noise. It's really scary and I can't sleep…"_

_"Uncle Leo jus' misses his sister," Bruno says quietly, "but I don't like him being so loud either."_

_"Scaredy-cats!" Vincent says. Then he stops and looks away, twiddling with his thumbs. "O-Okay… maybe I couldn't sleep 'cause he was loud last night…"_

_Akiza sighs; it's been two months and Leo hasn't fully stopped. There's times when he functions normally, and then immediately holes himself up in his makeshift room and cries until he can't anymore. Then he just screams until he can't even do that. While she misses her parents and Yusei more than anything… she just wishes Leo would stop sometimes._

_Angel stands up. "I'll go take care of it."_

_"Are you sure?" Akiza asks. The last time they'd tried stopping Leo, he nearly broke Angel's nose._

_"Yes, I'm sure. He shouldn't keep screaming like that…" She turns and leaves the room._

_Akiza makes nothing of it and continues reading the story._

_She's on the last page when her Mark flashes red and she screams, grabbing at it with her left hand. The red turns darker, darker, almost black—and then cuts off and Akiza is on her back trying to catch her breath. Her daughter is crying and her son's eyes are wide as he covers his mouth. The magenta-haired Signer tries saying something but can't voice it, and then she manages to choke out, "Leo…!"_

_The door swings open and Angel comes back. I stare at my future self in absolute horror—blood is splattered across her face and clothes, and she still has her Spirit Weapon out, the blade dripping with blood as well. "I took care of it…" she mutters, letting go of the katana. It clatters on the floor before disappearing. "There's no more screaming, Thena…"_

_"Mo-Mommy?! Wh-What did you _do_?!"_

_Akiza sits up, still holding her arm even though it doesn't hurt anymore. "Angel. Angel, why did you kill Leo?!"_

_"Wha—?" Angel takes a step back, raising a hand to her face. There's blood on it, though, so she doesn't actually touch her eyes. "What… where… this blood… I…"_

_"Do you even know what you _did_?"_

_Angel pales, stumbling into the door. She chokes out an apology before bolting out of the room._

_"Angel… how didn't I notice your instability before…" Akiza looks at her Mark, the lines faded with only one other Signer still alive. "Leo…"_

**To be continued…**

Angel: …

Lucy: *Waves hand in front of Angel's face* Huh. I think we broke Angel finally.

Angel: …

Shade: That seems to be the case. How curious.

S-S: You guys just had her snap and _kill Leo_! How could that _not_ break her?

Meri: Weak!

S-S: I really hate you all.

Joseph: Aw, we love you too!

S-S: *Rolls eyes* Alright, well, I need to go to sleep because I think the nerves from my audition today are finally gone and I woke up like three different times last night and—zzzzz… review… zzzz…


	8. Chapter 7: Future of Despair, Part V

S-S: Welp, we're back with some Crimson Fall.

Angel: You know what, I don't even care anymore. Do whatever the heck you want to.

Meri: Are you sure? This chapter is _quite_ dark. *Laughs*

Lucy: Pfft, that's an understatement, Meri.

Angel: Like I said. Whatever.

S-S: …Suit yourself, I suppose. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds, but I do own my OCs. And, as Lucy and Meri have been kind enough to mention, this chapter is extremely dark. You have been warned.

***This chapter is brought to you by _Krone_, from _Guilty Crown_***

**Chapter 7**

I… I don't understand. In the future… _I_ kill Leo? But—that doesn't—I would _never_ do something like that! …Except… that Angel had actually _been_ there and lived through both Toby and Crow dying for her. I-I can definitely imagine snapping after something like that, even with Athena, Uncle Roman, and Mother still with me…

The only thing is… if, if all of the Signers in the future _died_…

**XXX**

_The scene has changed once again, to the Original Reactor itself. It seems to have been turned on, the entire bottom of the pit flashing with rainbow colors, occasional pulses spiraling up and out through the chasm above. That extremely old rope bridge—so frayed that I'm surprised it even still exists—sways slightly in response to the spiraling of Ener-D._

_My heart almost stops when I realize that my future self is standing in the middle of the bridge, quietly humming some sad song, though I can't make out what it is because she's shaking and the song keeps getting interchanged with pained sobs. She's got some sort of huge coat draped over her shoulders, hiding her body from view. Her back is to me, but I can tell she's looking down at the light of the Reactor. Is… is she _trying _to die?!_

"_Angel!" Miyuki's worried cry comes from the safety of the actual floor beside the Reactor. She stands as close to the bridge as she can without actually setting foot on it. Behind her are Akiza and Athena, the young girl in tears while clinging to Akiza. The magenta-haired Signer, on the other hand, seems to be in pain, her mark faintly glowing a deep crimson. "Angel, what are you doing?" Miyuki asks._

_Angel shies away from them, wood creaking under her feet. Her back still turned to them, she looks over at her mother. She… she looks _dead_, there's really no other way to put it. Her eyes are so dull, although they look horribly pained. Still trembling, she says, "I can't do this anymore, Mother. I just can't. I tried so hard to keep myself together, but I just can't anymore."_

_Miyuki's eyes widen in horror as she realizes just what her daughter means. "No… you, Angel, you can't. Dying like this, it would mean your brother's death was for nothing! He wanted you to live, remember?!"_

_Angel looks visibly hurt by the mention of Crow. "Don't you think I know that?!" she sobs. "Him and Toby, they both died because they wanted me to live. But this, this isn't living, this is just existing. I killed Leo; I remember him begging me to stop even though he'd lost his will to live when Luna had died, but I still… I still… I still killed him! I don't _want _to exist anymore! I can't…"_

"_Angel, think about this! You still have your daughter, not to mention your mother and uncle!" Akiza argues, Athena wiggling out of her arms._

"_M-Mommy… please don't leave me!" the young girl cries. "I don't want you to die!"_

_Angel closes her eyes, turning completely away from them. Her shoulders are still shaking, and I can _hear _her debating with herself under her breath about whether or not she can actually go through with this. Until she shakes her head, turning to face them. For a second it looks like she'll come back. Then the coat she had covering herself slides off her shoulders… revealing a massive amount of blood staining her clothes… and… oh god the source of that blood, it's…!_

"_I've already made my decision. There's no place for me here anymore! Not with this _wretched curse _placed over me! But no more of that…! I'm free!"_

_She tosses her right arm, severed from the elbow, across the pit to them. It lands at Akiza's feet, the mark on the back of it glowing just like Akiza's, only even darker. The magenta-haired Signer immediately falls to her knees, turning around as she proceeds to throw up. Athena just stands there, mouth half-open, staring at her mother's arm, completely unresponsive. And Miyuki… Miyuki looks even more horrified now, going as far as to start walking on the bridge itself._

_Angel shakes her head again. "I shouldn't even be alive now, anyways. It should've been me that died in Nether, not Crow. …No, even before that, Sky shouldn't have… given up her power to save me and Father; maybe then this could've been avoided. But she chose that path, and now…"_

_She smiles, and lets herself fall over the edge of the bridge._

"_No…!" Miyuki freezes; there's nothing she can do but watch her daughter die._

"_MOMMY!" Athena screams, snapping out of her trance and running to the edge of the pit. "Mommy, n—eeek!" The girl slips in the pool of blood Angel's arm had created, and she can't reach up in time. She, too, falls into the light of Ener-D, though unlike Angel who went quietly, she screams as loud as she possibly can until she can't any longer, silenced by the light._

_Miyuki collapses on the bridge, sobbing._

**XXX**

_The scene abruptly cuts to my uncle, furiously writing something down on the paper in front of him. There are sheets of it surrounding him though, some crumpled and some just lying there. It looks like he's trying to come up with the schematics for something—but, who cares about that right now. I can't… I can't believe _that's _my fate—and Athena, my baby, her too. Falling into the Reactor…_

_The door to the room opens, and Miyuki stumbles in, holding the door frame for support. Her breath is ragged, but even so, Roman doesn't even so much as look up. He just keeps writing down whatever it is he's working on, muttering about it as he does so. Eventually, he shakes his head, ripping the piece of paper off the pad and letting it fall to the ground. It lands next to a bowl of uneaten, cold soup._

"_R-Roman…" Miyuki stutters, letting go of the door and taking a step forward. She falls almost immediately to her knees._

_It's at this point that my uncle turns. The unhealthy pallor on his face seems even worse when the dark circles around his eyes emphasize it. He doesn't… He doesn't look like he's slept in days—weeks even. His eyes narrow upon seeing Miyuki's trembling form, but he does not get up from his chair. "What happened?"_

"_A-Angel… and Athe-ena… they both… oh god they both…" She takes a deep breath in, steadying herself. "Angel let herself fall into the Reactor… after cutting her own arm off. She, she threw that arm to us—god, it was horrifying—and then she fell, and little Thena ran to the edge and slipped on her mother's blood, and there wasn't anything I could do… they're both…"_

_Roman turns back to his desk. So _that _was the screaming he'd heard a short while ago. And, Angel really severed her own arm because it held her Signer Mark? He spared a glance to his own arm that—so many years ago—had held the Mark of the Dragon's Head, but was now just a prosthetic limb. …No matter. "I see. Thank you for telling me this, Miyuki."_

"_That… That's it? Your niece and her daughter _just died _and all you have to say for it is 'I see'?!"_

_Silence fills the small room for a good minute until Roman replies, "I don't see the point in grieving for them. Not if… I can get this to work, but so far I haven't made it past the planning stages."_

"_Huh…?"_

"_I'm trying to build a time machine. Then we can fix _all _of this."_

**XXX**

So… _that's_ what they meant when they said they needed Roman alive to have a time machine. And he clearly had to be successful at _some_ point if these people are here in the present time. But… this isn't over yet, is it? We haven't seen the future Akiza die yet, and there's also the matter of where they got the Spirit Weapons from…

"There it was: a hope spot in the midst of despair," Lucciano says. "If Roman could build a successful time machine, they would be able to prevent Sky's conversion into Queen Sythini, and thus keep all those they cared about from dying. But… hope and despair are two sides of the same coin, and Sythini grew anxious to stomp out the rest of the Crimson Dragon's power. She had no way of knowing that Leo and Angel had already passed, but still came up with a plan to draw all of them out of hiding."

"She launched a widespread attack on the Human World," Placido picks up—for once, not so conceited as to let Lucciano explain everything.

The area around us begins to show snippets of the Earthbound Immortals, aside from Uru and Dai Aurelius, slaughtering people in cities across the world. The destruction does not discriminate, either; it swallows everyone in its path, no matter who they are.

"Akiza knew she couldn't take them all on at the same time, but she couldn't sit by and do nothing," Lucciano continues, crossing his arms. "She was still a Psychic Duelist, after all, and repeatedly used _Teleport_ to get as many people as she could to the safety of the Original Reactor until she collapsed from exhaustion."

The scene shows us Miyuki and Roman trying to explain to a large crowd of people what's going on—most of those people either angry or crying or both, some injured, some fine. It seems there's been another timeskip, however, because Vincent looks like he's about sixteen now, when last I knew he was six in terms of this future. It _really_ hurts to look at him, though, since aside from his eyes and his hair being significantly longer he looks _exactly_ like Jack did at that age. He, too, is trying to help these people.

"There's just one problem… getting enough food and water for all those people," Lucciano says. "Their supply was running low enough already; at this rate they would be out within a week. And that wasn't their only problem…"

**XXX**

_The ground suddenly starts violently shaking, everyone dropping to their knees. And when Miyuki and Roman both see that their Dark Signer Marks have started glowing, they immediately pale. That was no earthquake—the barrier that Shoshan had put up for them twelve years ago had finally come down. There was nothing else protecting them from the Netherworld—they'd all die here, wouldn't they?_

_And then a strange figure descends through the chasm that is the top of the facility, cloaked in white. The mask on her face is black, however, with white coverings where her eyes should be. This is… This is Athena—the leader of the group from the future, not my daughter—isn't it? But here she is, hovering over the Reactor, Black-Winged Dragon's katana in her hand._

_Miyuki recognizes the blade immediately. "Who are you?! Why do you—no, _how _do you have my son's sword?"_

"_Me? I'm… just a wanderer," the woman replies; she's _definitely _Athena. "I no longer have an identity to call my own." She points the katana in her hand at her mother. "As for why I have this sword… it was given to me by its Signer—not of this world, but of one of the many others I've been forced to wander through in finding my way home. I have the others as well… but first…" She tosses some sort of device to Roman. It looks like some sort of cross between a flashdrive and a key, the metal casing black and green. "Roman Goodwin, this will complete your time machine. Finish it quickly—the creatures of Nether will be on our heels any moment now."_

_He turns it over in his hands, then nods, running deeper into the facility._

"_As for the others…" Athena holds up the cards of all the main Signer Dragons except for Black-Winged Dragon, apparently also gifts from that other world. "…whoever they choose as their new Signers, along with the only one left from this world, will come with me to the past, and fix everything."_

"_Why…? If you're not from this world, why help us?" Akiza asks, her eyes stuck on the second copy of Black Rose Dragon._

"_I… have my reasons for wanting the past of this place changed."_

**XXX**

"The other Signer Dragons that Athena had brought with her chose their new owners immediately—us, of course—and certainly without time to spare," Lucciano says. "The Second and Third Princes of Nether immediately led the charge against what remained of humanity and the Signers… in a way they did not expect."

**XXX**

_Athena and someone else who's now cloaked in white run through the halls of the facility, fighting off the shadowy creatures that are trying to kill them. There's so many of them, though, and every time one falls three more take its place. Athena suddenly stops running. "There's nothing else for it then. I'll have to—"_

"_COSMIC FLARE!" a very, very familiar voice screams—but that's impossible, he's dead—and then the scene fills with a silver light. When it dims, all the shadow creatures are gone… instead, Yusei's there, _completely _uninjured, but breathing pretty heavily._

_Akiza looks as white as a ghost. "Y… Yusei…?"_

_Athena backs into a wall, just as surprised. "No… No, this isn't… I saw him die…!"_

_And yet here he is, smiling at Akiza like nothing is wrong. "I'm so glad I finally found you, Akiza. I've been looking for so long… How are you? And Bruno too, how's he?"_

_The magenta-haired Signer starts crying, taking his hand. He's _real_, he's _here—_and he's stabbed her through the heart with some sort of dark sword. The illusion falls apart, revealing a man with bright-blue eyes, a shadow for a body, and a ring of red around his neck. The man smirks as the last Signer of this world slides off his blade, falling to the ground before shattering just like the others. Then he turns his attention to Athena, who punches the wall in frustration. "Dammit! I should've _known _that was an illusion!"_

"_You fancy yourself a hero, then?" the shadow-man taunts._

_Athena makes a noise—something like a chuckle. "A hero? Maybe I did, once." And then her left arm glows red while her right one glows purple, and she sends a sphere of green energy flying at the Third Prince of Nether, Darkrai. He dodges it easily, but that means it collides with the wall instead, kicking up a cloud of dust that allows her to escape._

_The rest of the scene is nothing but a blur of colors as Athena makes it to the room where the time machine is, getting Pearl and Miles to head through the machine—a metal ring the size of the wall, blue light spiralling in the center—stalling Milon for a brief time, and then running through the portal herself right before Roman shuts it down, preventing anyone from going after her._

**To be continued…**

S-S: And there you have it, the end of the Future of Despair.

Lucy: Heehee… *Notices Angel isn't even here* Ah! She didn't even pay attention to this chapter! No fair… I still wanted her to flip out even though she said she didn't care…

Z.Z.: Perhaps I should go share this with our lovely Signer?

Lucy: That's a great idea! Let's go find her!

*They leave*

S-S: Great, they're collaborating again…

Rudolph: U-Um, I'll go make sure they aren't causing too much trouble, okay?

S-S: Yeah, go do that Rudolph. And, in the meantime, I hope all of you reading this right now decide to leave a review for this!


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